Stripping Bellator for Parts

[David Street]

THEY NEED A CHAMP VS CHAMP CARD

You did not listen to Donn Davies?? Already being planned.

 

[skylolow]

I can not see that succeeding.

In terms of non financial merit Bellator was a more successful promotion. PFL "won" because it has financial backers who believe in it more than Viacom believed in Bellator. If they consider themselves the number 2 promotion based on this they are gravely miscalculating.

Is PFL Europe a traditional format thing? With belts title shots and what not? For me if they switched everything to traditional format they might keep the Bellator roster but the PFL does not have Bellators history and brand and they'd have to spend years trying to get the following they've just bought with Bellator. Also "FL" will make people instantly think of team sports.

We'll see how it all plays out over the course of the next few years. History has not been kind to orgs outside the UFC.

PFL Europe and the other one's coming online are tournaments.

PFL is kind of operating like some of the major sports do but they want to be there from the start to the end. They have the PFL tournaments here, PFL tournaments in Europe(which I think has like Berlin, New Castle, and a few others). They look at these as like feeder leagues to big leagues( stand alone events and PPV's eventually). They want to grow it to the point that they can do like a tournament of champions maybe once every few years or whatever from around the globe. In nutshell with these different forms of the PFL they basically want a place for fighters at every level of their career. Where the UFC is primarily concerned about the top 10% of the sport or whatever and they view the PFL's of the world as feeder orgs to themselves. TUF and DWCS is the only in house feeder to the UFC.

It's very ambitious plan, but at least its a new approach to the sport. Promoter after promoter has shown trying to do what the UFC does just doesn't grab the attention of joe blow. The UFC gives them enough content through out the year that they don't seek out anything else.


I have my doubts like most if this is even doable or sustainable long term to any level that matters. The media deals moving forward will be a big indication of them finding any success. Apparently they have multiple new media deals they will be announcing in the next month or so.

 

[jx820]

The alternative option is to keep PFL but switch to Bellators format(you know the normal one)

This is my take. I think the only thing that makes any sense is to finish up their obligations with Bellator then and make one big org with one consistent branding and a structure that fans don't need to commit a year to following.

I don't know if the Bellator branding is an asset at this point because I think it's become synonamous with being a B league for UFC washouts. Maybe the PFL branding lets them distinguish themselves as something "new".

Then they need to build some stars in house and compete for some more names.

I think the first turn out of the driveway may be pulling some of Bellator's talent to put the best guys outside of the UFC under one roof.

 

[TorontoTO]

This is my take. I think the only thing that makes any sense is to finish up their obligations with Bellator then and make one big org with one consistent branding and a structure that fans don't need to commit a year to following.

I don't know if the Bellator branding is an asset at this point because I think it's become synonamous with being a B league for UFC washouts. Maybe the PFL branding lets them distinguish themselves as something "new".

Then they need to build some stars in house and compete for some more names.

I think the first turn out of the driveway may be pulling some of Bellator's talent to put the best guys outside of the UFC under one roof.

Bellator name is in the dumps, just change the name to PFL branded and then continue on. I think they should have a regular matchmaking promotion and then the tournament promotion, both things can work and then have bouts between them or the big stars go on the ppv

 

[TheBrownRanger]

By 2025, the remaining Bellator fighters will fill out the ranks of the other 4 franchises. I hope, at least Patchy, Pico, AJ, Usman, Eblen, and Nemkov run for the hills and join the UFC.

Yeah, if PFL is smart, they'll lock those guys down. I doubt any of the PFL guys are going to beat the Bellator champions. Bellator is top-heavy with talent while PFL's guys are more on equal footing throughout their roster.

The biggest chance of a PFL win would be Denis Goltsov (if he beats Ferreira) vs Ryan Bader. I'd imagine the winner of that gets Ngannou.

 

[blaseblase]

Bellator is a more successful promotion than the PFL, makes sense that they'd keep the name and use it to do cross-divisional fights to help build their own brand.

 

[TRVITMVNZ]

Eventually the Bellator name will change to the PFL Champions Series where the standard MMA procedures apply (Matchmaking/Belts/). The PFL tournament should be like the World Boxing Super Series and get a Trophy at the end

 

[Xuh]

If Diana Avsaragova needs safekeeping I've got a couch she can be stored on

 

[David Street]

‘Bellator International Champions Series’: The Bellator International Champions Series will consist of eight major fight events each year hosted in great cities across the globe, and each Bellator event will feature two compelling co-main fights competing for championship belts.

~Sounds like not much left of Bellator

 

[David Street]

PFL International Leagues (Europe, MENA, Africa)
If they buy ONE that can be PFL ASEAN

 

[BEATDOWNS]

If I understand correctly PFL will continue to do Bellator cards through 2024 due to oblictions to broadcasting partners. I haven't heard that they are on the hook to maintain any specific level or quality or a consistent roster.

I'm wondering if we'll see some of the bigger names move over to fight under the PFL banner as the year progresses and if some of the better behind the scenes talent will migrate over to work on the flagship product. It seems like it would be good for the PFL brand's repuation with the audience, but probably not great for their reputation as a business partner. What do you guys think?

Fighters won't be bound to one promotion like UFC they will now be able to just match up guys from both rosters and put them on whichever promotion they think makes the most sense. If Bellator does eventually just get fully absorbed into PFL under one banner they will keep the cream of the crop of each promotion and ditch the rest.

 

[podsox]

Bellator fighters are going to clean up in the pfl

 

[skylolow]

‘Bellator International Champions Series’: The Bellator International Champions Series will consist of eight major fight events each year hosted in great cities across the globe, and each Bellator event will feature two compelling co-main fights competing for championship belts.

~Sounds like not much left of Bellator

The Bellator name is nothing more than satisfying some media and sponsorship deals is more or less what Davis said.

I'd be shocked if they didn't rename in 2025.

 

[ferrisjso]

If they try to absorb Bellator into their current format they are doomed. If they had any sense whatsoever they'd migrate everything to Bellator but they don't.

 

[ferrisjso]

This is my take. I think the only thing that makes any sense is to finish up their obligations with Bellator then and make one big org with one consistent branding and a structure that fans don't need to commit a year to following.

I don't know if the Bellator branding is an asset at this point because I think it's become synonamous with being a B league for UFC washouts. Maybe the PFL branding lets them distinguish themselves as something "new".

Then they need to build some stars in house and compete for some more names.

I think the first turn out of the driveway may be pulling some of Bellator's talent to put the best guys outside of the UFC under one roof.

"It's become synomous with being a B league for UFC"

Thats exactly why they should keep the Bellator brand. It is established as the B promotion(as opposed to C,D,E,F,G etc). No alternative branding is going to make the average guy on the street consider them more than Bellator was at least not for awhile. Becoming an equal to the UFC is a decades long project that can not be acheived overnight. Bellators had a decade of slowly gaining credibility as serious and has a history about half as long as the UFCs. PFLs options are either

A)building off those 10 years with more resources and better matchmaking or
B)starting from scratch where Bellator was in 2013/2014 albeit with more money.

 

[jx820]

Bellators had a decade of slowly gaining credibility as serious

This is The part that I kind of disagree with. While bellator has developed some very good fighters over the years, when I think of Bellator, I imagine Corker salivating at the prospect of signing Chris Weidman or Tony Ferguson after their next loss or two. Or a main event where some nobody fighter is having a heart attack in the cage but is still almost as good as his opponent.

 

[TorontoTO]

This is The part that I kind of disagree with. While bellator has developed some very good fighters over the years, when I think of Bellator, I imagine Corker salivating at the prospect of signing Chris Weidman or Tony Ferguson after their next loss or two. Or a main event where some nobody fighter is having a heart attack in the cage but is still almost as good as his opponent.

He hasn’t signed washed UFC fighters in 4 or more years now. I think you are thinking of PFL

While UFC fans will always be disingenuous, the Bellator name should be abandoned since they will keep sayings it’s a place for washed UFC fighters even if they don’t sign a former UFC fighter for the next ten years

 

[jx820]

He hasn’t signed washed UFC fighters in 4 or more years now. I think you are thinking of PFL

While UFC fans will always be disingenuous, the Bellator name should be abandoned since they will keep sayings it’s a place for washed UFC fighters even if they don’t sign a former UFC fighter for the next ten years

You're right, they have diversified their washed fighters a bit. Now it's less specifically UFC focused and more about where your favorite fighter goes to spend their late 40s or their downhill slide into mediocrity.

A middle aged Bendo (at about 50/50 in the org), and 46 year old Yoel Romero both headlined cards this year. Yoel got a title shot for beating a 46 year old Melvin Manhoef last year. For their biggest card of the year a 46 year old Fedor headlined sporting a 66/33 win loss ratio in the org.

But I agree with you on the later part of your statement. I agree they've done some work to distance themselves from that image. And I agree that it doesn't matter because their brand is just infused with that image. Jared Fogle hasn't shilled for Subway in a long time, but they're still the official sandwich of kid touchers. That's marketing.

 

[careto]

https://x.com/vestnikmma/status/1729506311681753132?s=46&t=Agsxq8Xi86ZrpMPcqRtdPw

Magomedkerimov vs J.Jackson in Saudi Arabia on Feb.21

 

[Hellowhosthat]

https://x.com/vestnikmma/status/1729506311681753132?s=46&t=Agsxq8Xi86ZrpMPcqRtdPw

Magomedkerimov vs J.Jackson in Saudi Arabia on Feb.21

Hopefully we get more 6 hour concerts inbetween fights with PFL pacing.